By: Reuters

Emirates Global Aluminium said on Friday its Al Taweelah alumina refinery in Abu Dhabi restarted production of the feedstock for aluminium smelting and would ramp up to 50% of capacity within days.

The restart raised expectations for a faster-than-expected recovery of aluminium production in the Gulf region, following disruptions caused by the Iran war, and added pressure to benchmark aluminium CMAL3 prices on the London Metal Exchange. The contract was last down 1.5% at $3,152 a metric ton.

Earlier in July, EGA said it was restoring production sooner than expected at the Al Taweelah complex, although hot metal output may take up to a year to return to previous levels. The complex was damaged by Iranian missile strikes on Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi in late March forcing an emergency shutdown.

The alumina refinery, positioned next to the Al Taweelah smelter, produced 2.4 million tons of alumina in 2025, and met 46% of EGA's alumina needs.

EGA said in a statement that the timing of further production ramp-ups at the alumina refinery will depend on supply chain conditions and optimisation of EGA's alumina sourcing strategy.

However, the company, jointly owned by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and the state-owned Investment Corporation of Dubai, expects to have the technical capability to return the alumina refinery to full production by the end of 2026.

(Reporting by Polina Devitt and Tom Daly; editing by Susan Fenton)